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Monitoring Colleagues at Work: Profit-Sharing, Employee Ownership, Broad-Based Stock Options and Workplace Performance in the United States

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Listed:
  • Joseph Blasi
  • Richard Freeman
  • Douglas Kruse

Abstract

This study seeks to increase our understanding of worker reactions to shirking by analyzing two new questionson shirking from the 2002 General Social Science Survey (GSS). We developed the questions in order toilluminate the factors that enable some shared capitalist enterprises to overcome the free rider or 1/N dilemma.Our guiding principle is the notion that for profit-sharing, worker ownership, and broad-based stock options toproduce economic benefits, workers must "buy into" shared arrangements and create a workplace culture thatdiscourages shirking.

Suggested Citation

  • Joseph Blasi & Richard Freeman & Douglas Kruse, 2004. "Monitoring Colleagues at Work: Profit-Sharing, Employee Ownership, Broad-Based Stock Options and Workplace Performance in the United States," CEP Discussion Papers dp0647, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
  • Handle: RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp0647
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Erik Poutsma & Paul E. M. Ligthart & Roel Schouteten, 2005. "Employee Share Schemes in Europe. The Influence of US Multinationals," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 16(1), pages 99-122.
    2. Maxwell Sandada & Kamunyaru Batanai Basil & Asphat Muposhi, 2016. "The Influence of Employee Share Ownership Schemes on Firm Performance: the Case of Zimbabwean Firms," Acta Universitatis Danubius. OEconomica, Danubius University of Galati, issue 12(2), pages 37-50, April.
    3. Vladimir Pecheu, 2021. "Profit Sharing as a Bargaining Weapon Against Unions," Working Papers halshs-03247551, HAL.
    4. Derek C. Jones & Srecko Goic, 2010. "Do innovative workplace practices foster mutual gains? Evidence from Croatia," Advances in the Economic Analysis of Participatory & Labor-Managed Firms, in: Advances in the Economic Analysis of Participatory & Labor-Managed Firms, pages 23-68, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    5. John Heywood & Uwe Jirjahn & Georgi Tsertsvadze, 2005. "Does profit sharing reduce conflict with the boss? Evidence from Germany," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(2), pages 235-250.
    6. Guidi, Marco G.D. & Hillier, Joe & Tarbert, Heather, 2010. "Successfully reshaping the ownership relationship by reducing ‘moral debt’ and justly distributing residual claims: The cases from Scott Bader Commonwealth and the John Lewis Partnership," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 318-328.
    7. Burdin, Gabriel & Kato, Takao, 2021. "Complementarity in Employee Participation Systems: International Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 14694, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Geert Braam & Erik Poutsma, 2015. "Broad-Based Financial Participation Plans and Their Impact on Financial Performance: Evidence from a Dutch Longitudinal Panel," De Economist, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 177-202, June.
    9. Dermot McCarthy & Eoin Reeves & Tom Turner, 2010. "The impact of privatization and employee share ownership on employee commitment and citizen behaviour," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 31(3), pages 307-326, August.
    10. Thomas Cornelissen & John Heywood & Uwe Jirjahn, 2014. "Reciprocity and Profit Sharing: Is There an Inverse U-shaped Relationship?," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 205-225, June.
    11. Maxwell Sandada & Kamunyaru Batanai Basil & Asphat Muposhi, 2016. "The Influence of Employee Share Ownership Schemes on Firm Performance: the Case of Zimbabwean Firms," EuroEconomica, Danubius University of Galati, issue 2(12), pages 37-50, April.
    12. Vladimir Pecheu, 2021. "Profit Sharing as a Bargaining Weapon Against Unions," AMSE Working Papers 2135, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France.

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    JEL classification:

    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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